


Walk in the Park

by Severina



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Community: tv-universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 03:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3835099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Severina/pseuds/Severina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a festival in the park, but Belle doesn't like what she finds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walk in the Park

**Author's Note:**

> Early Season Two. Written for a photo prompt at LJ's tv_universe 'Big Bang Inspirations' challenge.
> 
> * * *

Belle stayed close to Rumple as they walked, her eyes wide as she tried to take in everything at once. 

The park was simply brimming with people, more than she had ever seen in one place save for market days back in Avonlea. Several couples lounged on blankets eating sandwiches while others strolled by the water's edge, occasionally stopping to throw bits of bread to the waiting ducks; toddlers chased each other, their high-pitched voices raised in laughter, while older children tossed strange round disks back and forth; music such as she'd never heard before spilled from a device Rumplestiltskin had called a 'radio', filling the air with a discordant jangle of startling sounds. 

Happy as she was to be out of the house, the entire effect was almost too much for her senses to bear. She almost longed for the safety of Rumple's four walls – for the quiet, steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the upstairs hall, for the familiar bits and bobbles from the Enchanted Forest strewn throughout his study, for the delights she had learned in the past few days in Rumple's oversized bed. But she raised her chin, reminded herself that all those things would still be there when they returned home. Now she needed to learn about this new land if she were to have any hope of thriving here. 

"The park isn't normally so busy," Rumplestiltskin said at her side. 

Belle glanced up in time to see him frown, and squeezed his arm reassuringly. Despite her resolve to be strong and brave for her first foray into Storybrooke, she clearly hadn't been able to fully hide her nervousness. It wasn't entirely surprising; Rumple seemed completely attuned to her needs since she'd found him again, spending the last few days making sure she was safe and content at all times. When she'd suggested that she'd like to see some of the town she knew he hadn't been happy with her determination to leave their secure cocoon, but he'd agreed readily enough. He only wanted to please her, she knew, and so she did her best to push back her anxiety over the crowds and the unfamiliar noises. 

It was exciting, after all, even though it was rather over-stimulating. She snuggled closer, too, when she realized that she'd been so caught up in her own experience that she hadn't noticed the stiffness in Rumple's spine, the way people seemed to scuttle out of their way when they saw Rumplestiltskin approaching. 

"There appears to be some sort of festival," he continued, one hand lifting to gesture toward an open tent in the distance. Their meandering path brought them ever closer to it as they walked, and she could see people clustered in small groups, some around a white vehicle that seemed to be serving some kind of food item, and some further back, surrounding something that she could not yet see. 

"Perhaps to celebrate the breaking of the curse," she suggested.

"Perhaps," Rumple said. He nodded toward the vehicle parked on the grass from which she could now hear a more pleasing tune, reminiscent of the fairs back home, and smiled. "At the very least, you will be able to sample your first taste of ice cream." 

"Ice cream?"

"A frozen dessert," he explained, "with many flavours. Very sweet. I'm sure you'll find one that you enjoy."

Her delight at the idea of adding another new food to her growing list was tempered immediately when the crowd near the tent shifted and parted. In their midst she could see a hideous, swaggering creature. It's face was streaked with bright colours, the most prominent being a ghastly red that painted its prominent mouth in a gruesome caricature of a smile. It put her in mind of a monster that haunted the swamps to the far east of her homeland, a diabolical beast that cavorted at the edge of the bogs and lured lost children into the murk. 

Her hand clenched convulsively at Rumplestiltskin's arm, dragging him to a stop.

"Belle?"

"That…" She swallowed, tried to draw a breath around suddenly oxygen-starved lungs; couldn't look up at him for the fear that if she took her eyes away from the monster for but a moment, it would be upon them. "That... thing."

She sensed his gaze follow hers; then he was turning her in his arms, his cane hooked over his forearm so that his hand was free to press lightly against her chin and tilt her face to his. "Sweetheart," he said softly, "that's just a clown." 

"A… a clown?"

"A person," he explained, "who paints his skin with coloured dyes and acts like a buffoon. It amuses the children."

"Why?" she asked, aghast. "It's terrifying!"

"There are some who agree with you," he murmured before straightening and retaking his cane. "He won't harm you, Belle. I swear it."

She dared to flick a glance back to the tent, taking in the children who were indeed laughing as the 'clown' manipulated some brightly coloured objects, twisting and contorting them into weird and abnormal shapes. Their laughter drifted across the park and the clown delighted in it, for a moment breaking into a strange and awkward dance. But then Belle could swear that for a moment – just for a heartbeat – it's starkly painted face swiveled in her direction and there was nothing but malice in its gaze.

Perhaps she was only imagining it. And she knew in her heart that it was horribly unfair of her to judge the clown on its startling appearance as so many had done with Rumplestiltskin, marking him as a monster because of his scaly skin and reptilian eyes without once trying to see the man within. But she still shuddered, images of the swamp creature swirling in her mind, and clutched again at Rumple's arm. Her voice, when it came, was stuttering and breathless. "It reminds me of… it looks like…"

"Belle, I swear to you—"

"I want to go home," Belle said. 

He hesitated but a moment before inclining his head. "As you wish, sweetheart," he said, his arm coming around her back to turn them toward the parking lot in the distance. But Belle wrapped her hand more firmly around his sleeve, stopping him before he could take more than a step. 

"Now," she clarified. She swallowed dryly, forced herself not to look over her shoulder to see if the clown was approaching, its intent dark and malicious. "Please, Rumple."

His brows rose when he understood what she meant, and she closed her eyes as his magic surrounded them. When she opened them again they were standing in his bedroom. Belle took in the familiar heavy oak furniture, the trinkets displayed on the bureau and the comforting closeness of the walls, and breathed a sigh of relief as she slumped down onto the bed. 

"Better?" Rumple asked.

She opened her arms to him, smiled crookedly. "Soon."

His answering smile was just the tiniest bit wicked as he joined her. And when he drew her back onto the bed, she realized that – at least for now – his embrace was all she needed. Exploring Storybrooke could wait. She had all the adventure she needed in Rumplestiltskin's arms.


End file.
